[andywalt]

I hope this isnt going to sound ridiculous ....

with my second batch of ewes that are not due untill April...there is a ewe that has a small clump of fleece come away between her shoulder blades, its not bald underneath it has some wool but its all frizzy..like tight curles, then today I noticed one other ewe that has her fleece on top is going frizzy...

has anyone had this before ? just hoping its not an early stage of something horrable !!


andy

[princesspiggy]

what breed are they?

[andywalt]

they are suffolk x norfolk horn

[kaz]

Can't think of the terminology at moment., but is basically caused by too much rain as far as I know. If someone has a more scientific explanation please advice.
The fleece underneath will grow o.k. and you won't even know that they have had any problems when they are shorn.

[waterhouse]

Four of ours caught sheep scab in the autumn which made them rub a lot.  Each has re-grown the rubbed fleece but you can see where it was cos the wool has grown back differently

The Welsh Black Mountain ewe is the worst affected with a really frizzy section across her back which is very slow to recover.  I recall that our fly-struck sheep also recovered similarly

I think all you can do is to keep an eye on it.

[andywalt]

ok thanks, im hoping its not the first signs of anyhting !!

if anyone else has experianced this or knows i would like to hear from them.


many thanks

[Fleecewife]

Any chance of a close-up photo?

[woollyval]

Sounds like wool break.....caused by a slight scald due to wet weather

[kaz]

That's excatly what I was trying to say.

[andywalt]

Please tell me more thats very helpful, scald? extreme  wet weather?  is there any more info please? I would appreciate it

It has been very wet here


thanks

[woollyval]

Ok here goes.....
Sheep actually moult...but its not obvious except in primitives where the wool falls out or is rued (plucked) if not shorn! Wool rises by June...meaning the new fleece plus the lanolin lifts up the old fleece making it easier to shear...hard to explain this!
So in the winter wet the weak point between the new growth and the old fleece is the bit that if it gets wet continually will break down causing the wool to break off. If there is only a small covering of new wool underneath the skin can get chapped and sore and crack too.....called rain scald.
So long as the wool underneath is good and the skin clean and pink do not worry but keep an eye if weather wet...!

[andywalt]

thanks very much wooly shepard, but is there anything I can do toto help prevent it? 


andy

[woollyval]

Urm well...rain dance perhaps

[andywalt]

haha  other than sheep macs but that would look silly   hhaha

[dyedinthewool]

I have a Herdwick ewe who started to lose her fleece in patches on her back in Nov - she didn't rub, or scratch.  First thought it was Scab - asked for advice on here - thought it could be Lice... I took scabs and tufts of fleece for analysis at local lab - not scab or lice, eventually came back with 'wool rot' caused by wet warm weather, could be that if you have your ewes housed they have got warm -surprising how hot they are if you put your hand into their fleece next to their skin - but their fleece has still been damp/wet and has rotted off.

I put Sudocream on the scabs - which helped keep the rain off by being like a waterproof membrane, while keeping the scabs from getting crusty - also clipped her back shorter left about 1" of fleece so her skin could breath, in future I will clip her in the late summer as well - or at least take off her top coat over her back area so it doesn't happen again.